Mobile tops BBA study into UK consumer behaviour
Banking by mobile phone and tablet has become the primary way UK customers manage their finance, according to new research published by the British Bankers Association.
UK
Apple Pay comes to UK next month
Apple Pay will be available in the UK from next month, with eight of the UK’s most established banks and the major credit and debit card networks supporting it – along with Transport for London.
Need for customer focus is driving recruitment in financial services
Demand for improved customer service and new mobile banking and payments services is driving increased hiring in financial services in the UK, with employment prospects 16 percentage points higher than a year ago, according to Manpower Group,
Banks should know their customers’ digital skills says new report
As consumer adoption of mobile devices and social media increases, banks can’t really rely on standard details such as income, age and geography to serve customers better than their competitors, according to a new report by payments company TSYS and software firm FICO. Instead, they may need to recognise the different kinds of customers based on how they interact with digital technology and tailor their services accordingly.
McObject distributor looks to crowdfunding in Europe
MCO Europe, exclusive distributor of the McObject high performance database financial markets in the UK and Europe, is raising investment through Crowdcube, the UK’s largest crowdfunding site, to fund growth and expansion. McObject’s eXtremeDB Financial Edition high-performance database is used for trading and risk management by banks, fund managers, brokers and data vendors.
Equiniti opens Cardiff centre to bring fintech focus to pension reform
Pensions and payments company Equiniti has opened a new fintech innovation centre in Cardiff, which will focus on bringing together fintech tools for employee share plans, online applications for investment platforms and web and mobile applications for pension products.
FCA sets out terms for probe into corporate and investment banking
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority’s study into competition in investment and corporate banking will focus on choice, transparency, bundling and cross-subsidisation in debt and equity capital markets, mergers and acquisitions and acquisition financing. It will also consider links between competition in these primary market services and related activities such as corporate lending and broking, and ancillary services.
Leeds Building Society targets “customer engagement” with HP deal
Leeds Building Society is to revamp its customer engagement tools through a ten-year deal with HP Enterprise Services, which will encompass a number of independent software vendors working on different parts of the business. The deal builds on the earlier deal between the two firms in 2013, which focused on the building society’s core banking platform.
Good news for graduates as financial sector hiring continues to grow
Concerns over a growing skills gap and lack of future talent are the biggest worries among financial firms’ recruiters, leading to a renewed focus on graduate hiring.
UK card transactions top 1 billion per month as debit card use soars
UK consumers are spending more on their payment cards than ever before, with over a billion transactions in February, according to newly-released figures provided by the UK Cards Association.
Halifax doubles mobile user base in a year
UK retail bank Halifax reports that two-thirds of its customers are now using mobile to login, doubling the number of mobile banking sessions compared to a year ago.
National velocity checking: the answer to MSB money laundering?
Anti-money laundering legislation cuts through the Gordian knot of bringing cases against companies at a stroke – it doesn’t require a ‘controlling mind’. In fact, it almost demands the opposite. A UK-wide system of velocity checking would go further in combating crime and protecting Money Services Businesses.
V.me by Visa to be rolled out in UK this year
Visa Europe says that it will roll out its V.me by Visa in the UK this year, having secured commitment from 55% of the UK’s card issuance base, which accounts for more than 60 million card holders, and thousands of the UK’s retailers. It will now be commercially available to the majority of internet shoppers in the UK before the end of 2015.
Citi Mobile Challenge demos ‘disruptive’ finalists in London
Mobile startups are changing the way customers interact with financial services around the world. Tier one banks know this, and are keen to get a piece of the action. This week, companies from EMEA demoed at the Citi mobile challenge in London in the final stage of an annual event that takes in hundreds of financial startups around the globe.
Delegates voice frustration at slow progress on Open API rules during Swift event
Open APIs offer the promise of a better, more efficient and more inclusive financial services world. But delegates at the Swift Business Forum in London voiced frustration about the speed and direction of progress being made during a session on the topic.
Global real time payments are finally pulling into the station – 40 years late
Real time payments ‘innovation’ is in fact simply capitalising on advances that first appeared four decades ago, according to panellists at the Swift Business Forum this week. Since then, progress has been glacial in many places. So why has it taken so long to get real time payments?
UK mobile banking set to double to £3.4 billion a week
The number of UK mobile banking users is set to almost double from 17.8 million to 32.6 million by 2020, according to a new report commissioned by Fiserv. Online banking is still growing too, the research found.
The war for technology talent: banks and Fintechs go head-to-head
Banks and Fintech companies are locked in a war for the best technologists – and there is only so much IT and technology talent to go around …
New payment systems regulator will open up payments systems to non-traditional players
Last week saw the launch of the Payment Systems Regulator, the first time the UK gets a regulatory body overseeing the £75 trillion a year payments systems. Its brief is clear: to open up the UK payments infrastructure, which is currently controlled by the high street banks, make it more accessible to challenger banks and fairer for consumers. The regulator has been given strong powers by the government and has already made it clear it will fine the banks if they do not step up to the mark.
Current Account Switch Service expanded to businesses
Two enhancements to the Current Account Switch Service (CASS), announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement last December, have been successfully implemented by the banking industry.
New regulator plans lasting changes to the structure of the UK payments industry
The UK’s new Payment Systems Regulator looks set to shake up the way the industry is structured, with reviews of the ownership of the infrastructure and of the way that indirect access is managed through sponsoring banks.
Lloyds to plough £1 billion into digital banking
Lloyds Bank plans to invest £1 billion in digital banking capability over the next three years, re-investing a third of the savings it hopes to make in its drive to become ‘simpler and more efficient’.
FCA to probe competition in corporate and investment banking
The Financial Conduct Authority plans to conduct a market study of the investment and corporate banking sector to decide if competition in the sector is working properly. It may also look into the asset management later in the year.
Delegates sceptical at Finovate London
Customers are busy and don’t have time to deal with slow banking services and processes. Instead, they want social media banking and more sophisticated personal banking, together with benefits that are convenient to them. This was the message of speakers at the Finovate conference in London yesterday – but not everyone in the audience was convinced about the ability of new technologies to realise that vision.
Lloyds to allow photo uploads as ID for account opening
Lloyds Banking Group is to allow customers to upload images of identification documents required as part on an online account opening application, removing the need to visit a branch.
Initially the new electronic identification and verification checks, which will start to be rolled out to customers from next week, will be available to customers who want to add an additional party to an existing account.
Payments Council picks Swift for SEPA Only services
The UK’s Payments Council has selected Swift to build the country’s new central infrastructure platform in preparation for the next phase of SEPA regulation in 2016, through the provision of an automated central infrastructure platform for collection and maintenance of UK-specific SEPA routing data.
Complaints: stopping the next scandal
As 2015 begins to gather momentum, it looks like the end is finally in sight for PPI claims, according to the Financial Conduct Authority. Back in September, the FCA announced a further drop of 11% in complaints from the first half of 2014, continuing a downward trend that began back in 2012.
Fraud fears holding back consumer acceptance of mobile payments
Fear of fraud is the main factor slowing the adoption of smartphone-based payments among UK consumers, though a third believes that credit and debit card payments will no longer be the preferred method of payment in 2020.
I am a bank
Remember those Microsoft adverts that touted ‘I am a PC’, showing everyday people as happy PC users? What if everyday people could do the same for their finances and say, ‘I am a bank’? What would that bank look like and what services would it offer to meet customer aspirations?
UK current account battle continues
Several of the UK’s major banking brands are losing customers to rivals such as Spanish bank Santander and building society Nationwide, according to figures released by the UK Payments Council – while competitor bank Nationwide continues to add customers.
RBS sees future in start-up partnerships
RBS’ global transaction services business is exploring collaboration with a number of startup companies as a way of combining its own services with the innovation provided by smaller companies, through API agreements. The move comes as banks around the globe increasingly seek to bring products to market faster and reap the rewards of innovation.
Regulation: why it must be seen as the carrot rather than the stick
The global financial crisis triggered an avalanche of fierce criticism for the financial industry, the repercussions of which are still being felt. In its wake industry bodies around the world introduced stringent regulations that require in-depth auditing to achieve compliance and complete corporate accountability.
Banking competition, divestments and the rise of the digital challenger banks
The Competition and Markets Authority has recently embarked on a full investigation into the so-called competitive stranglehold the four big banks – Lloyds, RBS, Barclays and HSBC – have over the UK market place. The CMA ended a five month consultation with the announcement of the investigation into accounts for customers and corporate accounts for small businesses – the CMA has already identified large branch networks and free current accounts as being barriers to entry for new banks
London Stock Exchange to begin trading Turkish derivatives
The London Stock Exchange is to begin trading Turkish futures and options, following a deal with Borsa Istanbul. The agreement will help to open up the Turkish market to more investors; it will also help to deepen the LSE’s derivatives market, which it has been trying to build up in recent years.
BT gets personal with on-the-fly video message service
BT has formally today the availability of a personalised video capability as part of its Cloud Contact portfolio of services following pilot project with two UK retail banks. The system, which allows businesses to email individually tailored videos to millions of customers by integrating relevant data with video templates, was developed by Israeli marketing technology specialist Idomoo.
Financial regulation drives London jobs growth despite economic and political uncertainty
London-based financial services professionals moving to new jobs in 2014 boosted their salaries by an average of 18% – and an increasing number of people did so, with year-on-year figures showing a 51% increase in people looking for new positions. But gloomy economic forecasts, combined with the seasonal drop in hiring over the Christmas period suggest that firms have postponed major hires to the current quarter.
Political risk, SME and data tools to headline at FinTech Innovation Lab London 2015
Seven startup financial services companies have been chosen by the FinTech Innovation Lab London, which returns to the city for its third year running. Candidates include a web-based program for real-time geopolitical risk assessment, tools that help small business owners manage their finances and faster data exchange and reconciliation technologies.
Cryptocurrencies overcome California legal hurdle – but the battle is not over yet
Digital and alternative currencies, including Bitcoin, can now be used for transactions in California, following the implementation of bill AB129 on 1 January 2015. The new bill is a step forward for cryptocurrencies which have faced tough opposition and scrutiny from global regulators. However, serious doubts about the safety of digital currencies have been voiced by banks.
“Big four” banks lose ground in current account market
The big four high street banks lost ground in the current account market in the first year of the UK Payments Council’s current account switching service, mainly through poor customer service. But the guarantee did not accelerate the pace of account switching, according to an independent survey of bank customers.
London Stock Exchange connects EuroCCP to main market
The London Stock Exchange has set out plans to add EuroCCP as a third clearer for its main market from March 2015, joining LCH.Clearnet and Switzerland’s SIX x-Clear.
